A relay having a coil form that serves as a basic element, a U-shaped core yoke, and a plate-shaped armature is known from the document WO 90/09028. The switching spring is connected directly with the armature, and in addition the switching spring is welded to the yoke via an angled-off segment. The switching spring thus serves both as an armature bearing spring and as an electrical terminal for the movable contacts.
With the use of such known relays with high thermal load, i.e. with high ambient temperature and/or with high self-heating by means of the coil current and/or a high load current, the cross-sections for the load circuit must up to now be overdimensioned in order to keep the power loss small. In addition, the coil must be designed with a high volume of winding wire for a small power loss. The contact and armature reset spring required in the conventional design must be constructed from a material with a low relaxation characteristic at high temperatures, e.g., from an expensive beryllium-alloyed copper spring material. These parameters set physical limits on the miniaturization of electromagnetic relays for large loads at high ambient temperatures.